In this May 3-10 special report, COVID-19: Stories from across America, Medill Reports looks at how the global pandemic is affecting businesses, graduates, festivals, and students in the United States.

We take you on a journey across the country from Maryland to Arizona as we examine the world and how people are navigating through COVID-19.

Charlotte 49ers All-American point guard Jahmir Young was gearing up for the conference tournament in Frisco Texas with a chance of potentially going to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005. As COVID-19 took over the world his phenomenal season ended instantly.

Photo at top: Jahmir Young brings the ball up the court. (49ers photographer/Charlotte Athletics)

As the coronavirus affects the world, athletes are forced to adjust to life without sports. Basketball player James Robinson’s season in Europe was abruptly canceled. His road back home to Maryland has been a wild one.

Photo at top: James Robinson running a play during his FIBA Eurocup season. (Eurocup/FIBA)

The much-anticipated debut of the new NBA All-Star game format was a hit, as Team LeBron beat Team Giannis, 157-155, in what turned out to be a very competitive and highly skilled basketball game.

All-Star games are typically high-scoring affairs with little stakes, but with the new format — in which each of the first three quarters was a separate contest to win six-figure checks for charity and the final period was an untimed race to a designated target score — the ending felt like a playoff game. Team Giannas led Team LeBron 133-124 heading into the final period. The target score to win the 69th All-Star game was set at 157, by adding 24 points to the leading team’s score in honor of the jersey number the late Kobe Bryant wore in the second half of his career. The fourth period quickly turned from friendly to fierce.

For Jimmy Butler, moving on has become pretty common in his NBA career. Butler has packed bags and said goodbyes three times already, moving on from the Bulls to the Timberwolves to the Philadelphia 76ers. One goodbye he will never say is to the city that embraced him from Day One: Chicago, Illinois.

Butler was the last pick of the first round in the 2011 draft by the Chicago Bulls. He spent six seasons there before his eventual exit, giving Bulls fans memorable moments on the court. What was even more impressive was the work Butler was doing off the court around the city of Chicago.